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Awards / Honors

Philanthropist Repp gets honorary degree

May 9, 2014

Colorado State University will award the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causis, to alumnus Dennis Repp, a military veteran who has been a major supporter of CSU's New Start for Student Veterans program.

The honorary degree will be conferred at the Graduate School commencement ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday, May 16, in Moby Arena.

Repp is one of four individuals receiving honorary degrees from CSU this spring. The others are philanthropists David and Paula Edwards and Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent.

Repp has achieved success as a businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist, and has made wide-reaching contributions to society and across the globe.

Repp, a 1960 graduate, attended CSU as an agricultural business major. He made his mark as a student leader on campus and, following graduation, he served in the U.S. Army before starting a successful business career in banking, investing and technology. His philanthropic efforts include forming Opportunity International, which has provided support for more than five million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world.

Transformational gifts

Repp’s contributions to Colorado State have been transformational. His gifts to CSU’s New Start for Student-Veterans Program have profoundly boosted CSU’s ability to support students who have been injured while serving in the military.

As a veteran himself, Repp has a personal connection to and interest in helping those returning home from war. He has donated more than $2.5 million to support New Start, which focusses on helping student-veterans to succeed in earning a degree by overcoming challenges with disability and injury. The New Start program, housed in the Center for Community Partnerships in the Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health and Human Sciences, is also benefiting CSU’s OT students, who are learning to work with veterans and the challenges of specific disabilities.

In 2012, Repp was awarded the William E. Morgan Alumni Achievement Award from the CSU Alumni Association.